


Digimon Tamers: Reemergence

by Superbun



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Tamers
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 06:52:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17996969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superbun/pseuds/Superbun
Summary: This is an unedited repost of a story originally written in 2013, uploaded here for posterity, I make no guarantees of its quality.Six years since the defeat of the D-Reaper and the disappearance of the digimon, the world has all but moved on. However, one day Rika returns to her childhood home and Renamon reappears. Can the duo reunite to save the world again? And how have the intervening years affected their relationship?





	1. Six Long Years

**Author's Note:**

> So, I decided to clean up my Fanfiction.net account and remove my old sexually explicit stories from the site, and repost them here for posterity. If you're here from my more recent work, it's probably best to give this one a miss.

**Chapter 1: Six Long Years**

A chill wind whistled through the darkening winter sky, rustling the trees in Shinjuku park, and ruffling the the clothes of a lone figure standing silently in front of the monument at it's centre. The memorial was simple thing, an unyielding monolith of white marble engraved with the names of those killed in the D-Reaper invasion, and the simple message "Never forgotten".

The figure brushed a stray lock of red hair aware from her glistening lavender eyes, and rested a hand respectfully on the cool, smooth stone of the monument. _It's hard to believe it's been six years already old friend,_ She thought to herself. While the D-Reaper attack initially devastated the centre of Tokyo, as time passed, the visible scars faded and the survivors returned to their everyday lives, and eventually, a semblance of normality returned to the once shattered district. However, for those who lived through the terrible events, the walls will be forever stained with bitter memories, that no amount of replanted parks and fresh concrete can cover up.

The wind gusted through the streets again, and a shiver rocked her thin frame. Pulling her long, black coat around her, she turned away from the monument and hurried away. As she walked she passed a seemingly innocuous patch of concrete, however even now, she knew this place almost as well as her childhood home. Buried somewhere underneath was the old shed that had been Guilmon's home, and had served as the Tamers' unofficial hideout all those years ago. Not wanting to stir up any more memories, she hurried quickly past.

* * *

By the time she arrived at the gates of her family home, the sun had finally slipped below the horizon, and high above the city, the moon was peeking out from behind dark clouds that slid across the sky, propelled by the chill wind. She raised her hand to buzz on the intercom, then hesitated.

_I've only been away for a couple of months, why do I feel like a stranger in my own home?_

Shaking her head, she fished around in her pocket for her keys, and let herself in. Gently lit by moonlight, the walled garden of her family's traditional home was a tranquil sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo. Taking a deep breath, she let out a long sigh.

_Just as it's always been... like she was never here at all._

Kicking off her shoes as she entered the house, she called out to her mother and grandmother. Almost as soon as the words had finished leaving her mouth, her mother rushed out of a side room and pulled her into a warm embrace, her grandmother following behind at a more sedate pace.

"Rika!" her mother exclaimed "It's so good to see you! What took you so long? You said you were going to be here hours ago."

"It's good to see you too, Mother" she replied "There was ... something I had to do before coming here"

"That's okay dear" her mother responded, releasing her from her embrace "Would you like something to eat? We've already had dinner, but i'm sure Seiko could warm something up for you"

"I'd like that, thank you" Rika replied.

Rika followed her mother into the dining room, and took a place at the table, where, a few minutes later her grandmother placed a steaming bowl of food in front of her. The room was silent for a while as Rika dug into her grandmother's hearty traditional cooking.

"So," her mother asked "How's university been so far?"

_Hell_ Rika thought, _if the endless whispering and muttering wherever I go doesn't drive me insane, the ceaseless questions about what it was like to be a Digimon tamer will._

After the D-Reaper's defeat, Yamaki and the local authorities tried to keep the Tamers out of the public eye as much as possible, and by the time the anniversary of the attack rolled around, the six of them could almost pass as normal children again. At the time however, still devastated by the loss of her partner, Rika didn't realise it, but now, having to go through the entire process again, she knew just how much they'd done for her.

"It's been okay" she answered.

"That's good to hear Rika, what about your social life? I assume you've met lots of new friends?"

"I hang around a bit with some people from my class, but mostly i've been focusing on my studies" Rika lied

"Oh, That's important too, but remember not to completely ignore your social life, going to university is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" her mother replied, completely oblivious to the lie.

_That's easy for you to say, mom_ She thought, bitterly. _This trip was meant to help me get away from my problems, not bring them all up again_.

Rika faked a yawn. "If you'll excuse me, mother, I've been travelling all day, and need to get some rest"

"That's fine, dear. We can talk again in the morning"

Pausing in the doorway for a moment, she turned and wished her mother and grandmother goodnight.

Closing the door to her bedroom behind her, Rika threw her coat to one side, and went straight to her chest of drawers. Opening the bottom drawer she removed a metal tin, and blew away the layer of dust covering it. Carrying the tin back to her bed in the centre of the room, she knelt down and placed the tin in front of her. Taking a deep breath, and letting it out as a heavy sigh, she cracked open the lid. Inside was her old collection of digimon cards, untouched for six long years, and sat on top of them was her digivice, Its screen as dull and lifeless as it had always been since the day her partner left.

Rika picked up her digivice and held it, cradling it in her hands like a fragile ornament. For a long time, she simply knelt there, staring at the device in her hands.

"Renamon" she spoke, her voice barely a whisper

"You probably can't hear me, but they said these things were sort of like the Ark, right? A physical manifestation of the connection between us. So if there's even the smallest chance that you can hear me Renamon, I..." She hesitated. "I don't know if you got that message that I sent you all that time ago, or if you even still care about me, but I wanted you to know, Renamon, that I tried. I really did. I did it for you, I tried to make myself a better person, I worked hard at school, and I got good grades, I even managed to get into a good university, but..." She hesitated again, her eyes welling up and her voice breaking "... I don't think I can carry on living like you never happened to me... you were always the best at understanding my feelings, you know that right? You were the closest friend I ever had. I thought that I was coping, that I was strong, that I could move on like Takato and the others. But I'm not, and I can't. You came to me asking me to help make you stronger, but you were always the strong one Renamon, not me. I barely talk to anyone anymore, everyone wants to ask me about being a tamer, but what do I tell them? That the day we won I lost my only true friend? That my only true friend isn't even human, but instead a chunk of data? Do you know how pathetic that sounds? How pathetic that makes me? I..." She choked back a sob, tears running freely down her cheeks, her voice barely audible "I need you back in my life Renamon... I ... I need you to come back to me ..."

"Please come home Renamon"

With her final heartfelt plea still hanging in the air, she let out what air she had left in her lungs. As the breath left her it seemed that it took what remained of her will with it, her whole body deflating into a slumped, defeated posture.

With a sniff, she wiped her eyes, and lifelessly went about the process of getting ready for bed, longing for the dark embrace of sleep to take away the burning pain in her chest, at least for a few short hours.

* * *

_Her feet beat a frantic frantic rhythm against the baked desert soil. She glanced over her shoulder, searching for her pursuers. All she could see were vague shapes scuttling in the nighttime shadows. Heart pounding in her chest, she forced herself to run even faster. Suddenly a chasm loomed in front of her. Her feet skidding in the dirt she barely managed to avoid the bottomless pit. She risked another glance behind. She'd lost too much speed, the shadows were gaining on her. Suddenly she burst out of the valley onto the plain, dimly lit by the blue-green glow of earth, floating serenely above, shafts of pink light streaming out from it. She scanned her surroundings desperately, looking for something, anything to help her escape. There! A shimmering point of gold light hovered above the ground maybe ten metres away. Close behind her a monstrous voice roared "_ _**Poison Thread!** _ _". She dived to the side as something rushed through the space she'd occupied a moment ago. Scrambling to her feet she sprinted the last few paces, and threw herself into the light. She was blinded by a white flash, and..._

Rika woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. "Renamon!" she gasped.

Seconds later, the silence was broken by a familiar beeping sound. Rika scrambled around for a moment, searching for her digivice, the screen was alive and displaying the compass. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew, but she knew without a doubt that her partner was in mortal danger.

Jumping out of bed, she dressed as quickly as she could, strapped her old deck to her belt, and sprinted out the door. _I didn't wait all this time just to watch my partner get destroyed, not if I can do anything about it!_ "Hold on Renamon, I'm coming!" she shouted.

Rika's lungs burned, and jolts of pain shot up her legs with every footfall, but she ignored the pain and pushed herself onwards, the only thing on her mind was getting to Renamon. She gripped her digivice in her right hand so hard that her knuckles turned white, checking it every few steps.. Looking back on it later, she would consider it a small miracle that she wasn't hurt or killed during her reckless pursuit of Renamon, she lept over barriers and slid down embankments with little regard for her own safety, and more than once cars came screeching to a halt as she darted across the road in front of them.

At last, she rounded a corner and came upon the digital field, spread across the small patch of open land at the end of the street like a cloud had fallen out of the sky. Without slowing down, she pulled her shades out of a pocket and ploughed headlong into the field. The inside of a digital field was like nowhere else on earth to Rika, the smell of ozone was heavy in the air, and the air itself was almost buzzing with static energy, creating a mild tingling sensation on her exposed skin. Seconds later Rika burst through the outer layer of the field and came skidding to an abrupt halt.

Thick strands of a white web-like substance covered almost every available surface, strung between trees and telegraph poles, and almost completely encasing the run-down children's play area at one end of the field. However, the web wasn't what captured Rika's attention, at the centre of the field was Renamon, struggling with a giant spider-shaped digimon, with a skull-and-crossbones emblazoned on it's back, while five more of the creatures circled around the pair. Rika recognised the digimon almost immediately, Dokugumon, She and Renamon had been fighting one the first time Renamon digivolved.

The Dokugumon attacking Renamon had tried to pounce on the smaller fox digimon, but Renamon had caught it by it's front legs, and now the two of them were stuck in a deadly stalemate. Dokugumon was stuck rearing on it's back legs, unable to overpower it's opponent, however Renamon was equally stuck, unable to release her opponent without being crushed. As Rika watched, horrified, one of the other Dokugumon clambered up a tree and reared up to attack.

"Renamon, look out!" Rika screamed.

Renamon's head snapped around to focus on her. "Rika!" she shouted, her voice a mixture of surprise and confusion. With a grunt she managed to throw off her attacker, and spun around to face the second. Without enough time to escape, she froze, sparkling blue eyes locked on Rika..

" **Venom Blast!** "

"NO!" Cried Rika. Without thinking, she rushed forwards, darting between the legs of the circling Dokugumon. Moments before the attack impacted she tackled Renamon, knocking her clear of the blast, before the purple cloud engulfed her. Every inch of Rika's skin felt like it was on fire. She cried out in agony, then stopped abruptly as the burning sensation spread down her throat.

Rika hit the ground hard, and stayed there, her vision swimming in and out of focus. Distantly, she heard Renamon call her name, then cry out in pain as the Dokugumon converged on her. Renamon's cry pierced through Rika's stupor. With a groan of pain she managed to force herself onto her back. Renamon was crouched defensively over her body, fending off attacks from three of of the Dokugumon simultaneously. "Im ... Sorry ... Rika." Renamon Panted.

"No..." Rika growled.

A flash of blue light to her left caught her eye. Her deck of cards had come loose during the fall, and was spread across the ground nearby, the nearest card had transformed into a blue card. Reaching out with her left hand Rika grabbed the card. She raised her right hand, somehow she'd managed to keep hold of her digivice. She brought her hands together, and began to swipe the card.

"Digi...modify," she gasped, forcing the words out through clenched teeth. "Matrix ... Digivolution ... activate!"

The last thing she saw before unconsciousness claimed her was the light of digivolution engulfing Renamon.


	2. Recovery

**Chapter 2: Recovery**

Rika's dreams were dark and tortured, she was tormented by vague, indescribable horrors and visions of someone crying out for her help, she knew that they were important to her, but she couldn't quite remember who they were. Occasionally unintelligible fragments of conversation drifted through her addled mind, but she shied away from them, as each one brought with it a wave of pain. In this state, time was meaningless to Rika, she wasn't sure if days or minutes had passed before she began to regain awareness. The first sensation to return was the pain, a dull, constant ache that seemed to permeate every fibre of her being. Next she became aware that she was lying in a bed, and then that people were talking around her.

"... Are you sure she's okay, doc? she's still not waking up" Rika recognised the voice of her mother.

"The poison's still in her system, but physically there's nothing stopping her from waking up, it's a matter of when she's ready to come back to us" an unfamiliar voice replied.

Rika heard a door open and close, and the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. Distantly she felt a light pressure on her left hand. She didn't move, she was battling against a wall in her mind, trying to remember how she ended up here. The door opened again, and someone else entered the room.

"Do you mind if I join you?" This time Rika recognised the voice of her grandmother,

"No, of course not"

For a several minutes the room was silent. Rika battered against her mental block, she knew that something important had happened before she woke up here, but frustratingly, she couldn't quite remember what it was.

"Do you think that I've been a bad mother to her, Seiko?" Rika's mother asked suddenly

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Seiko replied

"Six years ago I let her run off to put herself in danger fighting those monsters, and now she gets almost killed practically on my doorstep..." Rumiko trailed off into a yawn.

"Go get some rest, I can watch her for a few hours"

"Thanks for the offer, but i'm fine, honest" The tiredness in her mother's voice was obvious.

"As your mother Rumiko, i'm telling you to go get some sleep, I'll call you if anything changes"

"Thanks"

"I'm sure she'll pull through" Seiko reassured her, "She's a fighter, just like you, and she's always had a guardian angel looking out for her."

_My Guardian Angel... That's what she used to call..._

_Renamon!_

The wall in her mind burst and the memories came flooding back to her in a painful rush. Her eyes shot open. She tried to cry out for her partner, but all she managed was a croak before her bone dry throat seized up and a coughing fit overtook her.

"Rika!" she heard her mother cry out, and someone pressed a glass into her hands. Between bouts of coughing she managed to force down a couple of sips of the cool water within.

"Thanks" she gasped, then cleared her throat and took a longer drink of the water. Handing the drink back to her mother, Rika tried to sit up, but her head swam and her muscles gave way, and she fell back onto the bed with a groan.

"Take it easy, my girl" Her mother told her, concern colouring her tone "You've been out for a while"

"How long was I...?" Rika asked

"Three days" Her mother replied

 _Three Days!_ Rika thought to herself _I hope Renamon is okay..._

Laying her head back on the pillow, Rika finally examined her surroundings. Judging by the white paneled ceiling and the medical paraphernalia scattered around the room, she guessed that she was in a hospital, which was no surprise, however based on the general quality of the furniture and the fact that she had a private room, it seemed her mother had paid for her to be transferred to an expensive private hospital. The sun was low over city and streaming orange light through her windows, she guessed it must be only a couple of hours until sunset. Rika also took in her mother's face for the first time, she had large dark bags under her eyes, and deep worry lines creased her face, she looked as if she hadn't slept for the last three days. Spotting the empty coffee cups scattered around the room, Rika realised that was probably closer to the truth than she wanted to believe.

At that moment, the door to the room opened and a man entered, he looked to be in his early thirties, and had dark hair, glasses, and a light shadow of stubble on his chin. He wore a white coat and a name tag.

"This is Doctor Nakamura" Her mother introduced him, "He's the top poison expert in the country, he came here especially from Osaka to treat you."

"Thank you Miss Nonaka," he said "As your mother said, I'm Doctor Nakamura, although you can just call me Hiro. It's nice to meet you, Rika"

He held out his hand, Rika shook it weakly, her muscles ached and she struggled to lift her arm off the bed.

"I'd like to take some observations before we begin, if that's okay with you?"

Rika nodded, and he fastened a blood pressure cuff around her right arm, attached a sensor to her index finger, and shone a torch into her eyes, all the while noting down results on the clipboard that hung at the end of her bed.

In a lull in his activity, Rika took a deep breath and jokingly asked "So... can you fix me?"

"Actually," he began, scratching the back of his neck "I have no idea. The poison in your bloodstream... it's like nothing i've ever seen before... it's chemical composition is completely alien to me."

 _No surprise there, considering it's origin_ Rika thought.

"Actually," he continued, "I was hoping you could help me out, if you could give me an idea of what did this you you, I might have better luck formulating an anti-venom"

"I..." Rika began, then hesitated, she was going to tell the truth, but then had second thoughts about it. While the doctor seemed friendly enough, she didn't know if he'd keep her secret, and she wasn't sure if the world was ready for the Digimon to return quite yet. Also, remembering her Mother's words from earlier, and seeing the effect her condition was having on her mother, she didn't want to to put her under more stress by knowing that she was battling Digimon again.

"I... I'm not really sure," she lied "I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk... and then the next thing I remember is waking up here, I'm sorry" She hoped her lie was convincing enough.

"Don't be sorry" her mother reassured her "It's not your fault if you can't remember"

"It's possible the poison could have a neurological effect" Hiro said, "If you remember anything at all, please let me know"

"Okay" Rika replied

With that, he turned to leave.

"One more thing, Before you go" Rika said, she hoped she wasn't pushing it too far with this

"Yes?" Hiro asked, looking over his shoulder

"How did I end up here?" RIka asked

"Well," he explained "That's the biggest mystery of them all. Apparently they found you lying in the street just outside Nakano General, although nobody can explain how you got there, it's like you appeared out of thin air"

 _Thank you Taomon,_ Rika thought to herself, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Is that everything now?" he asked.

"Yes" Rika confirmed.

Hiro turned and swished out the door.

* * *

For a few hours afterwards, Rika's mother fussed over her daughter, but eventually Rika and Seiko convinced her to go home. Thus Rika was left alone in her room. With nothing else to do, she examined her surroundings more closely. By rolling her head over to the left she could just about make out her clothes folded in a small pile in the corner, however there was no sign of her Digivice or cards anywhere, she guessed they must have been left lying on the ground when she had passed out three days ago. Rika turned on the TV for a little while, but not being much of a fan of TV she turned it off again after a couple of hours. Later, a nurse came into her room and offered her a plate of food, which she politely turned down, her stomach couldn't handle much more than the tap water she was drinking at the moment.

Restless, her mind began to wander, she wondered if she really saw Renamon at all, if it all wasn't some kind of hallucination brought on by whatever poison was rampaging through her system.

 _No,_ Rika told herself _I know that was real, I couldn't have imagined it._

Try as she might for the next few hours, she couldn't quite get rid of that niggling doubt in the back of her mind.

Eventually, exasperated she turned off the lights in her room and called out to the shadows,

"Renamon?" No response. "Renamon? Are you there? Come to me" The silence was deafening.

_Or maybe she just doesn't care about me anymore..._

Letting out a defeated sigh, she laid down her head and vainly tried to get some sleep.

Several hours later, Rika had all but resigned herself to never seeing her partner again. She lay awake, quietly sobbing to herself. Suddenly she felt that she wasn't alone in the room.

" _Rika"_

The voice was the barest of whispers, more of an impression of speech than an actual, audible sound.

"R... R...Renamon?" She asked, her voice sounding pathetically small in the darkness..

A figure separated itself from the shadows, even in the dim light filtering through the curtains Rika recognised the silhouette instantly.

"I'm here Rika"

Rika felt her heart soar hearing the familiar voice again after so long.

Rika surprised the fox digimon by reaching up, wrapping her arms around her, and pulling the vixen closer to her, burying her face in the long fur on Renamon's chest. Renamon hesitated awkwardly for a moment, before gently placing her arms around Rika.

Rika felt a warm feeling suffuse her entire body, "You came back to me!" she said with a smile.

"Of course I did, We're partners" Renamon responded warmly

For a long moment the pair said nothing, enjoying each other's company after so long apart.

However, eventually they separated and Renamon pressed a small, hard object into Rikas hand. "I took care of this for you" she said.

Rika looked down and saw that she was holding her digivice. She felt her emotions swell up within her.

"Thank you" she began "Not just for this, but for taking me to the hospital, you saved my life"

"If anyone should be thanking anyone, it is I that should be thanking you" Renamon replied "If you didn't show up when you did, I would almost certainly have been destroyed by those Dokugumon"

"Yeah, I guess I did save your life there. So, shall we call it even on this one?" she asked.

"Agreed."

Suddenly her tiredness caught up with Rika, her eyelids felt heavy, and she yawned widely.

"I'm sorry Rika, I shouldn't be keeping you awake, get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow" Renamon took a step back from the bed.

"But..." Rika began

"Shhh..." Renamon began, placing a finger on Rika's lips "You need to get your sleep, I'll still be here tomorrow." With that, she took another step back and faded into the shadows.

Despite her protests, Rika was asleep within minutes.

* * *

The next day was hell for Rika. From the moment that she woke up, her whole body ached, and none of the painkillers the doctors gave her could get rid of it completely. To make things worse, after just a day in hospital Rika was already going stir-crazy, her mother visited her for a couple of hours in the morning, but she got a call from her agent that couldn't be delayed, and had to go into the city, so Rika was left alone for most of the day. She got some brief respite when her flatmate from university, Annie, came to drop off some of Rika's things. Annie was American, Had bleach-blonde hair, and was quite openly into girls (although, apparently Rika "wasn't her type"). The two of them had quite a simple arrangement, they split the household bills 50/50, took it in turns to take the rubbish out, ate takeout together on fridays, and aside from that they kept themselves to themselves. Despite this, Annie was the closest thing Rika had to a friend at university, and she enjoyed talking to somebody her own age for a couple of hours until Annie had to head back.

Rika watched as the sun inched agonizingly slowly towards the horizon, itching for it to slip below the horizon so she could speak to Renamon again. Almost as soon as the lights in the corridor had gone out, she called out for Renamon and the fox digimon stepped out of the shadows.

"How are you feeling Rika?" the she asked.

"Terrible." Rika grumbled, "I need to get out of here, Renamon. If i'm stuck in here for another day I think I might go crazy"

Renamon surprised Rika by stepping forwards and scooping her up out of the bed into her arms.

"Renamon, what are you..." Rika began, then stopped as their surroundings disappeared, replaced with cool darkness. Seconds later, Rika gasped as the darkness was replaced by a breathtaking night-time view of the Tokyo skyline. Looking around Rika realised that they were on the Hospital's roof.

"Is this any better?" Renamon asked, the vixen's breath warm on Rika's ear.

A breathless "Wow..." was all Rika could manage in response.

Renamon carried her away from the edge, and the two of them sat against an air conditioning unit, the warm air being pumped out of it repelling the chill night air. For several minutes they sat in silence, watching the moon rise in quiet companionship.

"So..." Rika began awkwardly, "Tell me what happened"

Renamon looked at her quizzically.

"After you ... disappeared, what did you do for six years? How did you find a way back into this world? I want to know everything."

Renamon didn't answer immediately, for a long time she was deep in thought, composing herself. "I don't remember much about the days immediately after we... separated," she began, her voice heavy with a multitude of emotions " I was distraught, we all were, me, Guilmon, Terriermon, Lopmon, all of us who had partners. We tried desperately to find a way back to you for so long, collapsing the portal the D-Reaper was using did something to0 the barrier between our worlds, we couldn't simply bioemerge anymore. For almost a year we searched for a portal, but eventually we had to admit defeat and look at what was happening to the world around us. The battle with the D-Reaper had consumed most of the Digimon Sovereigns' energy, they disappeared shortly after the battle."

Rika was stunned into silence, remembering the four majestic digimon that had fought alongside her and Renamon in the battle against the D-Reaper.

 _You will be missed, great ones._ She thought, bowing her head for a moment.

"Their loss had a great effect on the Digital World" Renamon continued, "This, combined with the scarcity of resources caused by the D-Reaper sowed chaos in the Digital World. It was like a civil war, great armies of Digimon fought over the small fragments of the world that had been left untouched by the D-Reaper."

"That's horrible" Rika said, shocked

"The eight of us did what we could to help the weak and advocate peace" Renamon explained "But weak, and unable to Digivolve we could only do so much"

Rika's heart swelled with admiration for Renamon, despite being separated from her partner and being unable to digivolve, she still fought for good.

So what changed?" she asked "How did you find your way back to this world?"

"I'm not sure," Renamon answered. "When you picked up your digivice and spoke to me, I knew that I had to get to you somehow, so I decided to have one more search for portals, and to my surprise I found one, which was also when I came across those Dokugumon."

Rika looked down at her feet. "You... You heard me?"

"Yes Rika, Every word" Renamon said softly, turning her head so her soft blue eyes met Rika's lavender ones.

"I'm sorry Renamon," Rika sniffed, wiping tears from her eyes "You didn't need to hear that."

"Rika..." Renamon began, reaching out for her partner.

Rika swatted Renamon's paws away angrily, "You shouldn't have come here Renamon" she said tearfully "You should be in the Digital World, doing good, not here, watching over some worthless, washed-up failure of a kid, who's still pining over her lost childhood. I'm nobody Renamon"

Renamon placed her paws on either side of Rika's head and forced her to look into her eyes. Her previously soft blue eyes had become hard ice. "Don't you ever call yourself Nobody or Worthless" she growled "You are my partner Rika. To me, you are the most important person in both worlds. The whole digital world could fall to the D-Reaper for all I'd care if it meant saving you."

Rika's mouth fell agape, rendered utterly speechless by her partner's sudden outburst of emotion. For a long time, the two of them stayed locked in position, the only thing breaking the silence was Renamon's angry breathing.

"Do... Do you really mean that?" Rika whispered

"Yes." Renamon answered instantly "I'd throw myself off this building right now if you asked me to"

As the depth of her partner's care for her finally dawned on Rika, she gasped, tears of joy flowing freely down her cheeks, she slipped free of Renamon's grasp and threw her arms around the fox digimon. "I'm sorry Renamon" she breathed "From now on I..." she trailed off suddenly, a hand going to her head.

"Are you okay Rika?" Renamon asked, concerned

"I... I think so," Rika replied, her head ached and the world was spinning around her, "We should get back inside"

Renamon stood up, then knelt down on one knee in front of her partner, "Please forgive me Rika" she asked, solemnly.

"Of course," Rika answered without hesitation "But what for?"

"I've allowed you to suffer needlessly for two days, when i could have ended it at any time, I should have done this the first time I saw you" she said, taking Rika's hands in her own.

"Do what?" Rika asked, confused.

"I can draw the poison from your body into mine," she explained "Without the poison inside you, your body should recover quickly"

"But what about you?" Rika asked, "Won't it harm you as well?"

"It will be... painful" Renamon admitted "But, I'm tougher than you, I will survive"

"No," Rika refused, pulling her hands away "I won't let you put yourself through that, just to make me feel better, I couldn't live with myself if I did"

"Rika..." Renamon began gently, taking her hands again "The poison in your blood is digital in origin, your body isn't able to cope with that, if I don't do this, the poison will keep eating away at you until you die"

"No..." Rika whispered, "There has to be another way..."

"As your partner it is my duty to protect you Rika, and I will not let you leave this rooftop until you agree to let me take the poison" Renamon said firmly.

"I guess i'm not really in a position to fight with you" she said with a forced chuckle "Go on, do it."

Renamon closed her eyes, and for a moment nothing happened. Then a subtle golden glow, similar to the light from the digital portal began to emanate from their joined hands. Immediately Rika felt a warm feeling suffuse her body, washing away some of her aches and pains. Then Renamon began to draw the poison into her, Rika felt the resistance as it was dragged out of every cell in her body, coalesced in her arms, and then flowed out through their joined hands. Gradually, Rika felt the flow of poison lessen, and slow to a stop. Eventually, when she was satisfied that all traces of the poison had been removed from her system, Renamon released Rika's hands and broke their connection.

Renamon let out a small gasp of pain, and Rika reached for her, concerned.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I will be" Renamon grunted through gritted teeth, "Let's get you back inside"

Rika felt better already, however the whole process had left her feeling strangely exhausted, and her eyelids were already drooping as she allowed Renamon to carry her back to her bed.


	3. Return

**Chapter 3: Return**

Three days had passed since the night on the rooftop with Renamon, and not a single day had gone past without Rika seeing Renamon. Every night, just before she went to sleep Renamon would step out of the shadows of her room and the two of them would talk, even if they didn't have much to say to each other, the feeling of warm companionship Rika felt during these sessions routinely made them the highlight of her day. Although the Doctors were bemused by her sudden recovery, they released her the day after, and now she was enjoying some late afternoon sunlight in Shinjuku park before heading back to University in a couple of days. Finding a secluded spot amongst the trees, she rested her back against one.

"Are you there Renamon?" she asked.

"Always, Rika"

Unsurprised, she looked up to see Renamon perched on a branch above her head. As always, Rika took a moment to admire her partner's wild, dangerous beauty, perfectly balanced on the gently swaying branch, scanning the horizon with her piercing blue eyes, fur slightly ruffled by the light breeze.

"You look healthy today, I take it the poison is completely gone from your body?"

The days immediately after her release had been difficult for Rika, watching her partner suffer as the digital poison coursed through her, unable to help, and knowing that she was at least partly responsible for her partner's condition. Seeing Renamon back to her old self again, brought an involuntary smile to Rika's lips.

"Yes" Renamon confirmed, "Is there a reason why you called me here?" she asked.

"There is," Rika replied, "I've been meaning to ask you something for the last few days"

"What is it?"

"What are you going to do?" Rika asked simply

"Whatever you ask of me, Rika" the fox digimon replied

"No, I mean in the long term. I'm-"

"Someone's coming" Renamon interrupted, vanishing into thin air.

A young couple, neither of them much older than herself, were strolling through the trees towards her. Silhouetted against the sky, Rika couldn't make out much detail, but the pair looked oddly familiar to her. It wasn't until his familiar voice drifted over to her that she finally recognised them.

"Hey Rika! I heard about what happened, and figured i'd find you skulking around here"

Rika chuckled to herself "And it's nice to see you again too, gogglehead"

The couple were, of course, Takato Matsuki and Jeri Katou. Rika wasn't privy to all the details, but apparently Takato had 'a thing' for Jeri before they became Tamers, and that the two of them grew closer after Takato rescued Jeri from the D-Reaper. A couple of years ago, they finally decided to start going out, and had been a happy couple ever since.

"Who are you talking to out here by yourself?" Jeri asked, letting go of takato's hand and running over to her.

"No-one, I was just talking to myself" Rika answered, glancing up into the tree, silently willing Renamon to remain hidden.

Jeri surprised Rika by throwing her arms around her, "It's been too long, Rika" she said,

"Likewise, Jeri" Rika replied, awkwardly returning the embrace.

"Long time no see, Gogglehead" Rka nodded to Takato, as he finally jogged up to meet them.

"So, Rika, what brings you to town?" he asked

"Not much" Rika replied "I was just planning on visiting my parents for the weekend, but then I had my accident... and you know the rest"

"What about you two?" Rika asked, addressing Takato, "Last I heard you were heading off to that college up north" turning to Jeri she continued "and you were..." Rika trailed off, Jeri didn't like to talk about it much, but her ordeal at the hands of the D-Reaper had a serious effect on her, It took a year of psychological treatment before she could even return to school, and she was still seeing her psychiatrist every fortnight when Rika and the others left school.

"She got a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country" Takato answered putting his arm around Jeri's waist "She's finishing her exams in the summer, and then she's heading up there"

"Congratulations! That's great news Jeri!" Rika exclaimed happily

Jeri blushed a deep shade of red "I don't like to boast about it..." she mumbled

"Nonsense! You should be proud of yourself" Rika assured her.

"Yeah... I guess..." Jeri mumbled, looking up slightly

Takato draped his free arm around Rika's shoulders, "I know a great bar not too far from here" he said, "Why don't we go there, and continue this little catch-up over a couple of drinks?"

"That sounds like a plan, if you're okay with this Jeri?" Rika asked

"Yeah" she agreed.

Five minutes later, the three of them were sat in a booth in a small bar, located in a side street, just off the main road. Takato and RIka has both ordered a Lager, while Jeri sipped from a glass of wine.

"So," Rika began, taking a sip of her drink "What's the story with you two?"

The pair looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.

"There's not that much to it" Jeri began "After the... um, Incident six years ago, I..." Jeri hesitated, clearly having difficulty talking about the subject.

Takato placed his arm around her again, and whispered something into her ear.

"I was in a bad place" Jeri continued "But Takato was there for me... he helped me alot"

After the D-Reaper invasion, they all tried to resume their normal lives, and only visited Jeri occasionally, but Takato was different, he visited her every day, and spent as much of his time as he could with her. In hindsight, it seemed obvious that they'd eventually fall for eachother.

"I was very grateful for him being there for me, and eventually I worked up the courage to ask him out"

"What she means by 'asked me out'" Takato interjected, "Is that she awkwardly stumbled over her words for five minutes before I put her out of her misery and asked her out instead."

"Actually," Jeri retorted "I don't remember you 'asking me out' I seem to remember you being rather more... forward than that"

The two of them blushed at that remark

"Spare me the gory details guys" Rika interrupted quickly, "I think I get the general idea"

All three of them laughed at that.

"So what about you?" Jeri asked Rika, "Are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

Rika shook her head.

"Really, nobody?" Takato asked, almost incredulous

"Yup, no one" Rika confirmed

"Surely a good-looking woman like you wouldn't have any trouble finding someone?" Takato asked

Jeri elbowed him in the ribs.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Takato responded indignantly

Jeri chuckled to herself, "Calm down, Lover boy"

"He does have a point though..." she said to Rika

Rika didn't answer for several seconds.

"I know..." Rika began "... I guess I'm not really interested in finding someone else at the moment"

"Huh, why?" Takato asked

"I've got looks from lots of guys," Rika continued hesitantly, "I even spoke to some of them, and they seemed nice enough, it's just..."

"What?" Jeri asked quietly

"I dunno really... I just wasn't feeling it, I guess I'm still looking for the right person"

"That's okay," Takato reassured her, "You're young, I'm sure you'll find the right person eventually, just don't give up hope." Glancing sideways at Jeri he added "And remember not to disregard the people closest to you, sometimes the one you're looking for can be closer than you think."

"Thanks" RIka said, looking at her watch, and finishing her drink she added "It's late, I should probably be heading home"

"It was good seeing you again Rika" Takato said, standing up

"It was good to see you too" Rika said, standing up and putting her arms around Takato

"See you around sometime"

"You too, gogglehead" Rika replied, Nodding to Jeri she added "Take good care of her, won't you?"

"I will." Takato paused, then added "Good luck, RIka"

"Good luck Takato" Rika replied, then turned and headed for the door.

* * *

"What do you think of this one Rika?" Rumiko asks for the hundredth time.

"No thanks, mother" Rika replied with an exasperated chuckle.

The day after meeting Takato and Jeri in the park, Rika agreed to go on a shopping trip with her mother. Normally Rika would have rather done anything else, but seeing her mother's condition while she was recovering in hospital, her perspective rapidly changed.

Suddenly Rika was jolted out of her reverie by the sound of shattering glass, shortly followed by an inhuman roar. Rika ran to the window, closely followed by everyone else in the store. Across the foyer of the shopping mall, the windows of an electronics store had been completely smashed in, obviously by an impact of great force. A large purple and red creature was stomping across the foyer in pursuit of a terrified Mall security officer, smashing aside anything that got in it's way. The reptilian creature stood on two massive legs, flexing its smaller front arms and swinging its gigantic head, easily as large as Rika's torso, from side to side as it walked. From the back of it's head sprouted a large crest. Rika instantly recognised it as Allomon, a dinosaur-type Digimon she and Renamon had the misfortune of battling with previously. Rika slipped her hand into her pocket and clasped her hand around her Digivice, thanking her paranoia for making her bring it and her deck along with her.

"That's a Digimon, isn't it?" Rumiko whispered.

Rika nodded solemnly.

At that moment, Allomon raised it's head and belched a stream of fire into the air. Rika watched, frozen in horror as the security officer stumbled and fell, sprawling on the ground in front of it. Rika took a step forwards, then stopped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Rika turned, her mother was gripping her shoulder, desperation in her eyes.

"Rika, whatever you think you have to do, please don't. I can't bear to lose you again."

"I'm sorry," Rika whispered "I have to."

Tears were forming in Rumiko's eyes. "Just don't get hurt" she pleaded

"I won't" Rika promised.

With that, she tore herself away from her mother and strode boldly out into the foyer.

"Hey! Big Guy! Over Here!" she shouted defiantly, her voice echoing in the sudden silence. The Allomon slowly turned his head towards the new voice and took a lumbering step towards her. Rika looked up, straight into the eyes of the crowd which had gathered around the balcony of the upper levels.

_So much for keeping this a secret..._

"Renamon!" she called, flicking her hands outwards, revealing her digivice in one hand, and a hand of cards in the other.

"I'm here, Rika" the vixen announced, appearing next to her tamer.

A collective gasp passed through the assembled crowd.

"Renamon, let's walk all over him. **Digi-modify! Power Activate!** " she shouted, swiping a card as she spoke.

Renamon lept into action, delivering a powerful flying kick to the side of Allomon's head, impacting with a sickening crunch. Allomon roared in pain and snapped at Renamon, missing her by a hair's breadth. Out of the corner of her eye Rika spotted the security officer scramble to his feet and run to safety. Rika returned her attention to Renamon. Allomon responded by losing another gout of fire. Even from a distance Rika felt the flash of heat on her face. Renamon easily dodged the attack, however the attack scorched a large swathe of ground, narrowly missing a group of petrified onlookers.

"GO!" Rika shouted to them.

"Renamon, we need to finish this!"

Allomon swiped at Renamon with it's tail, Renamon ducked under the blow and leapt up into the air, icy blue energy gathering around her.

" **Diamond Storm!** "

Renamon threw her arms wide, a cloud of blinding white shards of light flashed into existence and streaked downwards towards Allomon. Seconds later, Rika felt a shock wave impact her chest as a small explosion rocked the mall. Allomon roared in pain. For several seconds Rika waited anxiously for the smoke to clear. Allomon was clearly injured, but still standing. It bellowed defiantly and charged at Renamon, who dived out of the way at the last second.

"Time to take this up a notch" Rika shouted " **Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!** "

Renamon was consumed by a blinding light that seemed to emanate from within her. When it faded, her form was replaced by the Nine-tailed fox, Kyubimon.

"Let's finish this Kyubimon!" Rika called

Allomon roared in confusion at the new opponent and charged her. Kyubimon leapt over it, and rapidly spun into a cartwheel.

" **Dragon Wheel!** "

Wreathed in spectral blue flames, Kyubimon shot towards her target. Allomon looked over it's shoulder and spat a blast of fire directly at Kyubimon. Rika looked on in shock as the two attacks collided in mid-air. Rika flinched as a massive fireball erupted, shattering glass all around. Kyubimon was thrown to the ground, where she lay, stunned. Allomon roared in triumph and charged towards her, smashing through the remains of a sushi restaurant.

"Kyubimon!" Rika screamed, heart pounding, panic rising in her chest. "Get out of there!"

Kyubimon tried to struggle to her feet. Too late. Allomon pounced on her. Pinning her hindquarters down with a massive leg, he clamped his Jaws around Kyubimon's neck.

"No..." Rika choked out. Suddenly she was back in the digital field thee days ago.

_Renamon was forced down onto one knee, grappling with a Dokugumon, her arms shaking, visibly struggling to support it's weight..._

Kyubimon struggled desperately in Allomon's jaws. However, her efforts were futile, Allomon's grip was too strong. Already, Rika could see her weakening, her efforts becoming more feeble. Kyubimon managed to raise her head and meet Rika's eyes. "Rika... Help me..." she gasped..

_Renamon was crouched defensively over her body, fending off attacks from three of of the Dokugumon simultaneously. "Im ... Sorry ... Rika." Renamon Panted..._

Rika was paralysed by fear. She looked down at her cards, but she couldn't focus her eyes on them.

 _No! I can't lose her again_ she thought, _Not after all this time!_

Rika watched in horror as Kyubimon's form began to waver and lose shape.

_RIka was standing in the park, surrounded by the other tamers, as Renamon De-digivolved in her arms, and then began to float away "No! Renamon, Please, I Love you!" she cried._

Rika was brought back to reality by a series of short, sharp cracks. Looking up she saw a group of soldiers in gas-masks and black uniforms storming into the foyer, firing at the Allomon with assault rifles. The bullets bounced of it's thick hide harmlessly, but they must have at least hurt it somewhat, as it let go of Kyubimon and span around towards the soldiers.

Ignoring Allomon and the Soldiers, Rika rushed over to Kyubimon, who was laying unmoving on the ground, and fell to her knees beside her. Rika cradled Kyubimon's head in her arms.

"Kyubimon? Are you okay?" she cried "Please be okay, please, please..."

At last she managed to crack her eyes open and weakly raise her head.

"Rika... Look" she gasped.

Rika looked over. Another soldier had entered the foyer, this one was carrying a long metal box on his shoulder like a rocket launcher. He pointed it at the Allomon and pulled a trigger. A cluster of three energy bolts shot out of the end of it, and span towards the target. On impact, the Allomon was shattered into a cloud of data, which quickly dissipated.

One of the soldiers slung their rifle over their shoulder and removed their gas mask and helmet, revealing shoulder-length black hair. "God shot, Six" she said, addressing the soldier carrying the metal box.

"Thank you, sir" he replied

Turning to the other four soldiers, she issued a series of orders, speaking with obvious authority.

"Two, Four, sweep the rest of the building, make sure there aren't any more surprises waiting for us. Three, Five, secure the perimeter.

The soldiers saluted, split into groups of two and ran off in different directions. The commander turned and walked over to Rika and Kyubimon, stopping about ten paces away, clasping her hands behind her back.

Rika stood up and positioned herself between the commander and Kyubimon.

"I won't let you hurt her," she said defiantly "If you want to get to her, you'll have go through me."

"Calm down," she said gently "We don't want to hurt you, or your digimon, I just wanted to check you were both okay"

"Oh" Rika responded, confused.

"Allow me to explain, I'm Major Itou, I'm with the Digital Anomaly Response Team, DART for short. We're a division of Hypnos"

Rika said nothing, working over the implications in her mind. She realised that the weapon they used on Allomon must have been based on Yamaki's Yuggoth program.

"You must be Rika Nonaka" she said.

Rika nodded slowly.

"So then, this must be Kyubimon" She continued, gesturing behind Rika.

"I am" Kyubimon replied, shakily getting to her feet.

"Are you hurt? Do you require medical attention?" Major Itou asked, addressing Kyubimon directly.

"No, I will be fine, Major" Kyubimon replied, nodding her head slightly.

"Is there anything else you wanted, Major?" Rika asked

"Yes, while we are grateful for your timely intervention today, we would appreciate it if you stay out of our way in the future. The government will contain the problem, this is not a place for amateurs like yourselves."

Rika gritted her teeth. _Amateurs?! We've got more experience fighting digimon than your whole damn team!_

"Have I made myself clear?" The Major asked.

"Perfectly, Major." Rika forced through her teeth.

"Good. Farewell, Rika." The Major turned and walked away, speaking into her earpiece.

"Rika, it would be best if we didn't leave through the normal exits" Kyubimon said, crouching down to allow Rika to climb on her back.

"Are you sure you're strong enough to carry me?" Rika asked, concerned.

"I am."

"I'm sorry, Kyubimon" Rika said as she clambered onto Kyubimon's back.

"What for, Rika?"

"I have failed as your Tamer, Kyubimon."


	4. Truth

**Chapter 4: Truth**

"... And we now return to our main story today. Earlier this afternoon, a shopping mall in central Tokyo was attacked by a vicious creature, which authorities are now saying was one of the Digimon which attacked the city six years ago. Nobody was hurt, thanks in part to the intervention of Rika Nonaka, one of the Digimon Tamers that saved the city from the D-Reaper six years ago. In a few minutes we will be speaking to Major Itou, head of the government task force responsible for dealing with this attack, and asking the question: who should be responsible for our safety?"

Rika turned the TV off in disgust. Two hours had passed since the attack at the mall, and the news people had been saying the same things over and over again for the last ninety minutes. Out in the hallway she heard the phone ring for the hundredth time, and her grandmother once again politely explain that neither she nor Rumiko were available for comment.

As soon as they returned to the house, and it was apparent that they weren't in any immediate danger, Rika sent Renamon away on the pretence of looking for any other Digimon. However in reality it was because Rika couldn't bear to face her partner after her nearly disastrous performance in the fight.

 _What's wrong with me?_ Rika asked herself, looking down at her shaking hands, _me and Renamon faced down much worse than that Allomon before..._

Her mind had no answer for her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she looked down at the business card lying on the coffee table in front of her. It was a simple thing, just three lines of black text on a white card. It read:

_Mitsuo Yamaki_

_Hypnos Network Services_

Followed by a telephone number on the third line. Rika remembered Yamaki giving the card to her:

_It was about a week after the defeat of the D-Reaper, she and Yamaki were stood alone in Shinjuku park, on the exact spot where Renamon disappeared. Not too far away, Rika could see the fresh patch of concrete that had been Guilmon's home._

_"Rika, I'm sorry for your loss..." He began._

_"I don't want to talk about it." Rika cut him off._

_"Rika..." He hesitated, removing the card from the inside of his suit. "I realise I'm the last person you want to talk to right now, and I understand that. Please take this card, if you ever change your mind and need my help, for anything, call this number and I'll do what I can."_

_Rika took the card, shoved it into a pocket, and walked away wordlessly._

Rika picked up her mobile phone, which was lying on the table next to the card, and dialled the number. Yamaki answered on the first ring.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"I'm an old friend"

"Who do you work for?"

Rika ignored the question."The Kitsune has a proposition for you, if you're interested, meet me in the cafe in Shinjuku station at eleven AM tomorrow." Rika said, using the name of the Japanese nine-tailed fox spirit.

"What?"

"Don't be late." Rika hung up before he could answer.

 _I hope I'm doing the right thing..._ Rika thought.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Renamon finally stumbled back to the Nonaka family home. She leaned heavily against the doorframe, her chest heaving. Her fur was still matted in places, encrusted with dried blood from injuries sustained in the fight with Allomon.

"Renamon!" Rika gasped, rushing to her Partner's side.

"I... Searched... the whole city" Renamon panted "... No... Digimon... Anywhere."

Renamon pushed away from the doorframe and wobbled uneasily on her feet, Rika stepped forward, putting an arm around her partner's shoulder, supporting her. As always, Rika was surprised by the vixen's slight weight. Getting a closer look at her partner's condition, Rika felt a sharp pang of guilt in her chest. _I did this to her..._

"I'm sorry Renamon," Rika began, "I shouldn't have sent you out again, you needed rest"

"No Rika, you were right to send me out. As Digimon and Tamer it is our duty to ensure the safety of innocents before we tend to ourselves." Renamon's reassurances failed to lift the black mood settled on Rika's heart.

Rika carried Renamon to her room, and gently laid her down on her bed.

"Rika..." Renamon gasped, trying to sit up, "what happened today... Wasn't your fault"

"I know" Rika lied, pushing her back down gently, "Rest now, we can talk later"

Rika turned away from the bed, to find her grandmother standing silently in the doorway. "She'll be fine." Rika whispered, answering the unspoken question, closing the door quietly behind her.

"You really care for her, don't you?" her grandmother asked.

"She's saved my life more times than I can remember, this is the least I can do in return" Rika replied.

"Whatever you choose to do, remember that me and your mother will always be proud of you, Rika"

"Thank you grandmother, have a good night"

"You too, Rika"

Rika returned to the living room and stretched out on the sofa, laying her head on the pillow that her grandmother had helpfully provided. Although, as soon as she laid her head down, she knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep. Her mind was still playing the events at the Mall over and over again in her head.

For a long time Rika lay there, staring into the shadows hanging from the ceiling, wrestling with her inner demons. Eventually she became aware of another presence watching her. Looking up she saw her grandmother standing in the doorway.

"Can't sleep?" She asked quietly

"Yes" Rika replied, sitting up and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Seiko entered the room, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from Rika. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked gently.

For a long time Rika said nothing, resting her head in her hands.

"It's Renamon" she said eventually, with a sigh "In the fight yesterday, Renamon was pinned, and..." Rika took a deep breath, steadying herself "... I froze up. I was so scared that I was about to lose her again that I couldn't do anything. I couldn't help her. If those government troops hadn't arrived she would have been killed. I've failed her, she should hate me."

"Rika, look at me" Seiko began, "I like to think that I'm a good judge of people and relationships, and I know without a doubt that Renamon doesn't hate you right now." Seiko hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to continue, "I'm not entirely sure what the relationship between you and Renamon is, but the way she looks at you, it's more than just respect for a trusted partner, even one who's saved the other's life. And judging by what I saw in you tonight, you realise this too."

"What are you talking about? Me and Renamon, we're friends, partners. Nothing more."

"Are you sure about that, RIka? How many friends do you know who would go out and search the whole city while seriously injured, just because you _asked_ them to?"

Rika said nothing, trying to wrap her mind around what her grandmother was saying.

"We never realise how much we care about the people closest to us, until they're taken from us, don't let that happen to you, Rika"

Unbidden, Takato's words from the night before echoed in Rika's mind.

" _remember not to disregard the people closest to you, sometimes the one you're looking for can be closer than you think"_

Slowly, an Idea began to form in Rika's head. "Do you mean that Renamon could be... in love with me?"

Seiko hesitated "I don't know... she definitely cares for you more than either of you are letting on, but I don't know if Digimon are even capable of romantic love with a human"

Rika felt a small pang of disappointment from the bottom of her heart, "She is. I know she is." Rika responded, with more venom than she intended.

"They, I meant they are" Rika corrected herself, awkwardly.

Seiko stifled a yawn, "I'll leave you to get some sleep, I hope that I helped you"

Rika thanked her grandmother and laid her head down again, no closer to solving her problems despite the conversation.

* * *

Rika yawned and looked down at her watch, 10:45 AM. Eventually, she'd managed to fall into a light sleep for a couple of hours, although she was woken by the first grey light of dawn seeping through the windows. Looking up, across the busy station platform, Rika spotted Yamaki. He was sitting on a small metal chair outside the coffee shop in his usual dark suit, pretending to read a newspaper. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Rika strode confidently across the platform and slid smoothly into the chair opposite him.

"You're early." She said

"So are you." He responded, calmly folding his newspaper and placing it on the table.

"I trust you know why I'm here?"

Yamaki nodded. "You were hardly subtle yesterday" he said, reaching into the inside of his suit, retrieving a smartphone and placing it on the table. Rika recognised the image on the screen as a picture of her taken just before the fight at the Mall, shot from above. "This video got ten million views overnight" Yamaki explained, reaching over and tapping the phone's screen. The video unfroze and rika heard her voice issue through the phone's tinny speakers.

"Renamon, let's walk all over him. **Digi-modify! Power Activate!** "

_Ugh, Do I really sound like that? I need a new catchphrase..._

Rika paused the video. "And your point is?" she asked.

"Major Itou told me that you agreed to stay out of our way, which surprised me, i'll admit. However, we have a problem."

"Do we?" Rika asked tersely

"Yes, we do. Unfortunately after your dramatic entrance yesterday, the public is going to expect that the two of you show up again whenever the digimon attack again, and no matter how successful the Digital Anomaly Response Team is, they're not going to be happy if you and Renamon disappear again."

Rika was silent for a moment, taking in the meaning of Yamaki's words.

"I think we might be able to to come to an agreement, then."

"What kind of agreement?" Yamaki asked.

Rika took a deep breath, _This is it._ She thought.

"What Major Itou told you is true, Renamon and I have no desire to fight digimon, and are willing to allow DART to ...contain the problem." Rika felt a small pang of guilt at speaking for Renamon without asking her opinion first, but she pushed it away. "So," Rika continued, "We'll do interviews, public appearances, anything you need us to do to ensure public confidence in your team, short of actually fighting Digimon."

Yamaki opened his mouth to speak, but Rika raised her hand, cutting him off.

"However, I want to see a demonstration that DART is actually capable of defeating digimon by themselves before we do anything ."

"That's a reasonable request" Yamaki replied, he was silent for a few seconds, thinking. "Okay, I accept your terms. Keep the phone. I'll call you next time we detect a Digimon incursion."

With that, Yamaki stood up, straightened his suit, picked up the newspaper and walked off, leaving Rika sat alone at the table.

 _That couldn't have gone much better,_ Rika thought _So why do I feel so bad about it?_

* * *

It was three days later when Yamaki's phone finally rang. During those three days Rika told no-one, not even Renamon about her arrangement with Hypnos' leader, It hurt Rika to keep secrets from her partner, but she kept repeating her mantra of _I'm doing the right thing_. Heart pounding in her chest, Rika scrambled out of bed and snatched it up from where it was lying on her bedside table.

"Hello?" she asked breathlessly

"We've detected another portal opening." Yamaki answered "I'm uploading the co-ordinates to the phone, meet us there ASAP."

The line went dead. For a long moment, Rika stood in silence listening to the dial tone and her heart pounding in her ears. Rika took the phone away from her ear and hung up, the phone automatically loading the maps application. Rika threw on some clothes, shoved her deck and digivice into her pockets, _Just in case,_ she told herself, and sprinted out into the night. Memories of the last time she ran out into the night rose in search of a digimon surfaced in Rika's mind, bringing with them the confusing emotions from her conversation with Seiko. Rika pushed them away and focused on the rapid beat of her footfalls.

The first rays of dawn were just starting to break the horizon when Rika arrived on the scene. A group of blacked-out vans were parked in the middle of a crossroads, several dozen people were already milling around, setting up roadblocks and monitoring equipment. Rika approached the barricades, and one of the soldiers waved her through, and lead her to the back of one of the vans, where Yamaki and Major Itou were waiting. Yamaki was still wearing his traditional dark suit, and the Major was in full combat gear, a rifle slung on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Rika" she said.

"Let's skip the pleasantries and get this over with" Rika answered.

"Very well, Rika" Yamaki said, "This is the first time we've managed to locate a portal before it opens." he explained "We've got it's location down to a ten-metre radius, but we can't predict when it will open, it could be in ten minutes, or two hours from now."

"Gotcha." Rika replied, Stalking off to find somewhere quiet to wait.

Rika ended up leant against the wall of a shop, nursing a cup of steaming coffee that a technician had handed to her earlier. Rika took a sip from the coffee then almost choked on it when she felt an icy cold sensation crash down on her shoulder blades. Rika was gripped by a sudden sense of dread, _Something's coming!_ she thought.

Rka opened her mouth to warn the soldiers, but before any sound came out a golden light flared in the middle of the crossroads, a digital field expanding around it, rapidly covering the entire intersection. Rika heard Major Itou shouting orders, and the soldiers took up defensive positions around the glowing portal, among their ranks Rika spotted at least four of the handheld Yuggoth weapons from the battle at the mall. Rika heard a noise behind her, and spun around to see Renamon burst through the wall of the field.

Renamon came skidding to a stop beside her tamer.

"Rika! What are you doing here!?" She asked, her voice a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Renamon..." Rika began, but was interrupted by a shout from Major Itou

"Get ready! Something's coming through!"

The portal began to glow brighter, growing larger and crackling with energy, golden arcs jumping from it to the ground or nearby buildings.

"I can feel it's energy. it's big!" Renamon shouted.

Renamon stepped forwards, dropping into a fighting stance,

"Ready, Rika?"

Rika gently put her hand on the vixen's shoulder. "Not this time Renamon, We'll let Hypnos deal with this one."

The look of hurt and confusion on her partner's face when she looked over her shoulder hit Rika like a hammer blow. "What?!"

"You heard me Renamon, I ..." Rika felt her voice breaking. "I made a deal with Hypnos, we're not going to be fighting any more Digimon"

"Why?" Renamon's voice wavered slightly as she spoke the question, causing a sharp pang of regret in Rika's chest.

"You saw me in the fight the other day Renamon, I nearly got you killed. ... I couldn't go through that again, I'm sorry."

"Rika..." Renamon began, reaching for her tamer.

"No..." Rika snapped, swatting away her partner's paws. She could see that Renamon wasn't going to back down, Rika wracked her brain looking for something to say to convince her partner. but deep in her heart she knew there was only one way that she could ensure Renamon's safety. Tears welling up in her eyes, she began to speak.

"Renamon, I'm no longer fit to be your tamer." She pushed her digivice into Renamon's paws. "Here, take this. Go back to the Digital World, do what you will, just please... stay away from me." When Rika finished, tears were streaming down her cheeks.

For a long moment, Renamon was silent, her face twisted by emotion.

"As you wish... Goodbye Rika"

With that, Renamon vanished into thin air.

_What have I done?!_

* * *

A sound like a thunderclap echoed through the abandoned street. The portal flashed brighter than the sun for an instant, blinding Rika.

_Crash._

Rika felt the impact shake the ground, closely followed by the tinkling sound of breaking glass.

_Crash._

Another impact shook the ground. Rika heard the rattle of gunfire.

_Crash._

A pained scream from split the air. Rika blinked rapidly, desperately trying to clear her vision.

Finally Rika's vision cleared. She looked up and saw a massive metal dinosaur standing in the middle of the intersection, a pair of huge cannons mounted on it's back. A wave of hopelessness struck Rika as she recognised it as Machinedramon, a Mega-level, Machine-type Digimon.

It raised it's head to the sky and emitted a deafening synthesised roar, shattering nearby windows.

WIth a sense of eerie detachment, Rika watched as the DART soldiers rallied and fired their Yuggoth weapons at Machinedramon. The energy blasts dissipating harmlessly against Machinedramon's metal hide.

The monstrous machine digimon let out another ear-splitting roar and slammed it's right hand into the ground, knocking the soldiers off their feet. Rika looked on in horror as it raised one of it's massive feet and brought it down on several soldiers, killing them instantly. Hypnos didn't stand a chance. No weapon on earth, short of a nuclear bomb, could hope to put a dent in Machinedramon's armour. Rika had sent away the only being capable of stopping Machinedramon's rampage out of her own selfishness.

Rika ducked as the torn remains of a car flew over her head, smashing in the side of a shop, breaking her from her reverie. Major Itou's pained voice sounded over the cacophony, "Our weapons can't hurt it! All units fall back! Get out of here!"

Rika looked to the source of the voice, the major was lying on the ground, her leg trapped under the twisted remains of one of the Hypnos vehicles. Despite her injuries, and the hopelessness of her situation she was firing a handgun at Machinedramon's side. A squad of soldiers ran past Rika, heading for the edge of the field. Rika turned to join them, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at the major, lying in the dirt, firing defiantly at the metal monstrosity looming over her. Swearing to herself, Rika turned tail and ran to the major's side.

"Rika!" Major Itou gasped "Get out of here!"

"Not without you" Rika growled, heaving at the twisted metal trapping the major's leg.

Major Itou grunted and tried to pull her leg free.

"It's no use" She growled "Go, while you still can"

"I'm not leaving y-"

They fell silent as Machinedramon's shadow fell over them, it's bulk eclipsing the sun.

Rika felt more than heard Machinedramon's deep growl as it lowered its head, the cannons on it's back beginning to glow with scarlet energy.

_So, this is it..._

"Rika, It's been an honour" Major Itou whispered.

"The honour's all mine, Major"

_... I'm sorry Renamon._

Suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once. A Yellow blur knocked Rika to the side. The remains of the van were tossed aside. Rika felt something grasp her by the scruff of the neck, and suddenly she was flying through the air, A colossal blast of energy obliterating the space she was occupying an instant earlier. Rika's back hit the ground, and she laid there for a moment, eyes closed, waiting for her head to stop spinning. At last, Rika opened her eyes, and looked straight into Renamon's fiery blue eyes.

"Renamon!" Rika gasped "I'm-"

"Later" Renamon growled, pressing Rika's digivice into her hands.

Rika knew instantly what she wanted. Rika clambered to her feet, brushing concrete dust off her clothes.

"Are you ready Renamon?" She asked, an odd formality to her tone.

"Always, Rika"

Heart pounding in her ears, Rika clasped both hands around her digivice and pressed it against her chest.

"Then let's do this. **Biomerge activate!** "

A warm blue light flared between Rika's hands, consuming her and Renamon.

No matter how many times she experienced it, Rika was sure that she'd never get used to the feeling of merging with her partner. Distantly she was aware of her naked body floating in a dim blue light, but she could also aware of Sakuyamon's body. She could feel Sakuyamon's heart beating in her chest, the air in her lungs, and her fist clenched around her staff. However, the strangest sensation was sharing her mind with Renamon, she could feel her partner's thoughts running like an icy river on the edge of her consciousness.

Renamon's voice echoed in her mind, _Remember, I am your partner Rika, no matter what I will never abandon you._

Rika felt a warm, comforting feeling wash over her. It took her a moment to realise that it was Renamon sharing her feelings for _her_. Rika was completely overwhelmed by the depth of her partner's emotions, if she was in her own body, she was sure tears would be running down her cheeks. Rika took a deep breath of the air through Sakuyamon's lungs and steadied her emotions.

 _Let's go to work_ she thought.

The bond between them deepened, their consciousnesses merging until there was no separation between their identities, becoming a single entity.

Taking a combined breath, their unified voice rang out clearly across the digital field.

"Machinedramon! This world is under our protection, and we will not allow you to harm it's inhabitants. Leave now, or we will be forced to destroy you!"

Machinedramon roared defiantly, lowering it's head and charging it's cannons.

Rika felt power surge through their body, and they span their staff around and brought it down on the ground in front of them. " **Crystal Sphere!** "

A glowing violet orb expanded from the point where the staff made contact with the ground. Machinedramon fired an instant later, it's shot impacting harmlessly against the sphere.

"Very well, you have brought this upon yourself."

Sakuyamon crouched, then leapt high into the air.

" **Spirit Strike!** "

Three flaming spectral foxes leapt from their body and streaked downwards, impacting with explosive force rivalling that of Machinedramon's cannons.

When the smoke cleared, Machinedramon was visibly injured, it's metal hide was charred, and showers of sparks issued from gashes in it's side. It raised it's left hand and fired an energy blast at Sakuyamon. Sakuyamon rolled to the side in mid-air, easily avoiding the attack. Rika felt the power coursing through their body, and willed it to manifest in the real world.

" **Fox Drive!** "

Heatless blue flames began to flow over their body. They flipped in mid air and blazed down towards Machinedramon, delivering a devastating kick to the side of it's head. The force of the attack knocked the machine digimon off its feet, sending it to the ground with an almighty crash. Sakuyamon landed nimbly on it's chest.

"And now you will be purified by our light. **Twin blades of Beauty** " Sakuyamon slashed the air with her staff "... **And Truth!** " Sakuyamon slashed the air again. Staff blazing with violet light, they brought the tip of it down on Machinedramon's chest. There was a flash of blinding light, and Machinedramon shattered into a sparkling cloud of data that streamed towards the portal, vanishing back to the digital world.

At last the battle was over. Breathing heavily they drifted slowly to the ground, their minds separating until they were only connected by a thin stream of thought. Rika spotted Yamaki and Major Itou coming towards them. Yamaki's suit was crumpled and caked in dust, and the Major was limping heavily, leaning on Yamaki's shoulder.

The major saluted with her free hand. "That was a hell of a fight Sakuyamon... I've never seen anything like that before. I mean, i've watched the news footage... but experiencing it in real life is something else."

Sakuyamon nodded her head, "Thank you"

"No, I should be the one thanking you, If you hadn't intervened when you did, I would have been dead for sure, if there's anything I can do to repay you, please let me know."

"That won't be necessary", They replied "Your words are more than enough."

"That said," Yamaki began "You saved a lot more than just Major Itou's life today, I'm not sure we would have been able to stop that ... thing before it destroyed half the city. So if there's anything at all that Hypnos can do for you, please give me a call and I'll do everything in my power to help you."

Rika looked around the ruined intersection. All around small groups of soldiers were picking themselves up out of the dirt, and converging on the three of them.

"I trust that you can handle things from here?" Rika asked

Yamaki glanced around briefly. "Yes, I think we can" he replied

Rika felt Renamon take over control of their body. "Then we shall take our leave" she replied. Leaping up into the air, and soaring over the buildings without waiting for a response.

Rika tried to read Renamon's thoughts as they flew, but to her surprise she found them blocked off to her.

Even without access to her partner's mind, Rika knew without a doubt that she'd have a lot of explaining to do once they landed.


	5. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains graphic depiction of sexual intercourse.

**Chapter 5: Reconciliation**

They had been flying for about ten minutes when Rika felt the power flowing through her and Renamon's combined body begin to wane. Through sheer force of will Renamon kept them going for another two minutes, but eventually she gave up and they settled on the roof of a nearby tower block. Almost as soon as their feet touched the roof, there was another surge of light, and Rika suddenly found herself back in her own body. Although she was glad to have control over her limbs again, her head felt strangely quiet and empty without the presence of Renamon.

"Rika, We need to talk"

Rika felt a lump form in her throat, "I know".

In an unusual display of uncertainty, Renamon hesitated before speaking "What happened to you Rika? You sent away your closest friend to protect them, then seconds later, you ran into almost certain death to save somebody you met three days ago?"

"I've already lost you once Renamon, I couldn't cope with going through that again..." Rika replied in a hoarse whisper, "I'm a liability Renamon... I'd rather send you away than see you get hurt because of me"

"But what about me?" Renamon asked in a quiet voice, "I've stuck with you since we first became partners, even when you treated me as nothing more than a mindless fighting machine, I stayed by your side. I went through six years of hell in the Digital World, and the one thing that kept me going was the hope that someday I'd find a way back to you. So don't you tell me that you sent me away to protect me!" Renamon finished in a growl.

Rika felt like she'd just been punched in the gut. She closed her eyes, tears seeping out from the corners. Renamon was right. She had been selfish. Renamon had stood with her through it all, and at the first sign of doubt, she'd sent her away like a coward.

"Then why did you come back for me?" She demanded tearfully "I'm a failure Renamon..."

"Rika..." Renamon began, taking a step towards her.

"No!" Rika cut her off, tears streaming down her face "Don't lie to me Renamon, you know it's true, Everything I've done since you came back has-"

Suddenly, Renamon placed one hand on the small of Rika's back and the other on the back of her head, pulling their bodies together sharply, and bringing their lips together in a rough kiss.

Rika was frozen with shock and confusion, her mind refusing to accept what her senses were telling her, That Renamon was _kissing_ her, and that some subconscious part of her was _enjoying_ it.

Mercifully, a second later Renamon pulled away, taking a step away from her partner, a hurt look in her eyes.

Rika stood there, heart pounding in her chest, staring at wide-eyed at Renamon.

"Renamon. What. The. Fuck!?" she panted.

Renamon recoiled as if she'd been struck. "I'm sorry Rika, I shouldn't have done that, I thought you felt the same way..."

Renamon turned away from her, staring off towards the horizon. Rika heard a small sound from Renamon, with a shock she realised that it was a sob.

Rika closed her eyes, a series of memories playing behind her eyelids. Every small personal moment between her and Renamon, from that one time she bought Renamon an energy drink, to their final words to each other in the park, six years ago. Rika knew that she cared about Renamon a lot, that much was obvious to her. But was it anything more than that? She thought about the few experiences with guys that she had. That hadn't been her first kiss, although she'd never gone any further than that. She'd always felt like there was something holding her back, somebody that she was still waiting for. Now she was finally beginning to realise the truth that she'd been hiding from for the last six years.

Rika took a shaky breath, feeling the weight of the situation on her shoulders, and reached out, placing a hand on Renamon's shoulder. Renamon flinched, but thankfully didn't pull away.

"Renamon..." Rika began "Whatever happens today, remember that we're still partners, and that nothing's going to change that, okay?"

Renamon nodded and slowly turned to face Rika. Cautiously, Rika reached out with her other hand and gently caressed Renamon's cheek. Releasing a breath she wasn't even aware she'd been holding, Rika allowed her eyes to roam over Renamon's body, scrutinising every inch of her fur. Rika felt that only now was she truly seeing Renamon for the first time. She was struck by how alien Renamon really was, she may walk on two legs, but she was most definitely _not_ human and certainly not conventionally attractive. However, Rika had always thought that Renamon had a certain lithe grace, a wild, dangerous beauty, like an eagle soaring through the air, or a lion stalking it's prey. Although, right now Rika didn't care what anyone else thought, because she knew in her heart of hearts that she was in love with her partner.

Taking a deep breath, Rika slid her hand on Renamon's shoulder to the side of her neck and gently pulled Renamon towards her. She felt Renamon's arms encircle her, holding her in a light embrace. Renamon's breath fluttered against her face. Rika's heart was pounding in her ears. There was a moment's awkwardness, and then Renamon tilted her head to the side slightly and their lips finally met. Rika let out an involuntary sigh, melting into the kiss. Eyes closed, she pressed herself against Renamon's warm fur, hands roaming over her back with a mind of their own. Time seemed to stretch and warp in Renamon's arms, Rika couldn't say whether that first real kiss lasted seconds or minutes, but eventually they ran out of breath and separated, both gasping for air.

Riding on a high of emotion, Rika stared wordlessly into her partner's sparkling azure eyes for a long moment, before pulling Renamon's head down for another kiss. This time it was different. The first kiss had been slow and tender, with Renamon allowing Rika to lead. This time Renamon didn't hold back, and the kiss was fiery and passionate. Renamon's tongue was in Rika's mouth, and her paws crushed Rika's body against her fur, every movement sending small shocks of pleasure down Rika's spine. Rika's whole world existed within Renamon's arms, at that moment, Rika knew that the whole world could burn down around them, but she wouldn't care as long as she was in her partner's arms.

Rika's shirt rode up slightly, and she felt silky smooth, warm fur brush against her bare skin, and a small gasp of pleasure escaped her lips. Renamon's hands slid down her body to her hips, causing her to shudder in pleasure, then began to tease at the bottom of her shirt, causing her breath to catch in her throat whenever she felt warm fur brush against her stomach. Renamon was driving her crazy already, and she still had all her clothes on. Rika pulled her lips away from Renamon with a gasp.

"Renamon..." she breathed, surprising herself with her husky tone.

Renamon got the idea, and quickly scooped Rika up in her arms. Their surroundings went black for a second, and then suddenly they were standing in her bedroom. Renamon gently laid Rika down on her bed, then began to slowly crawl up the bed towards her, until she was straddling Rika's hips. Rika felt a surge of apprehension as her mind finally realised the inevitable outcome they were hurtling towards. Renamon leaned down to kiss her, then stopped, sensing her uneasiness.

"Rika," Renamon breathed "Please don't feel like I'm forcing you into anything, We don't have to this if you don't want to"

Rika was touched by the depth of Renamon's care for her. She placed her hands on either side of her partner's head. "This feels right," she said softly "I want this, I really do, it's just..." she trailed off.

"Go on" Renamon gently prompted

"... I've never done this before." Rika replied "... With a woman... With anybody."

"Do you trust me, Rika?" Renamon asked

"Of course, with my life." Rika replied without hesitation.

Renamon leaned in closer, her breath warm against rika's cheek. "Then relax, I promise you'll enjoy this" she whispered.

Renamon gently slipped a paw behind Rika's head, and pulled her towards her, capturing her lips in a tender kiss. Rika sighed pleasurably, her worries melting away as Renamon's arms closed around her. Renamon slid her paws down to Rika's hips, then began to slowly push Rika's shirt upwards, caressing her side as her paws traveled upwards. Renamon's fur left a warm tingling sensation as it traveled over her skin.

They separated for a moment, and Rika moved to help remove her shirt, but Renamon gently grasped her arms by the wrists, and pushed them back to her sides. then slowly began to slide her paws up her arms. Up her forearms, then past her elbow, and finally up towards her shoulders, pushing her shirt as she went. Rika ached to be free of the shirt, so she could reach up and pull Renamon's mouth down to hers again, but she knew better than to go against her partner's wishes. Rika was suddenly overcome with pent-up emotion. "Renamon, I love you" she blurted out.

"I love you too" Renamon whispered, leaning down to briefly brush her lips against Rika's.

Finally, Rika was free of her shirt. Immediately she reached up and grabbed Renamon, pulling her down for a hungry kiss. She let out a slight moan as Renamon responded, pressing her body against Rika's. Renamon's warm, impossibly smooth fur felt amazing to on her bare skin. She arched upwards into her partner, trying to maximise the contact between them. Renamons paws slipped behind her back, unhooking her bra. Rika started to wonder how Renamon managed to figure it out so quickly, but then all conscious thought was erased, as her breasts were suddenly enveloped in silky smooth warm fur. Somehow, Renamon's touch felt infinitely better than her own. Rika moaned involuntarily into her partner's mouth as Renamon began to gently squeeze and massage her breasts, sending shocks of pleasure through her body and down to the rapidly growing heat between her legs.

Renamon finally broke their kiss, pulling back slightly. Rika whimpered in protest, then gasped in pleasure, as Renamon's lips met her neck, gently teasing the skin with her teeth, then sliding lower. Renamon traced a burning trail down Rika's neck, down her neck and over her chest, until her mouth was hovering just above her nipple. Renamon blew a stream of cool air over it, drawing a pleasurable sigh from Rika, then she lowered her lips to her partner's nipple and gently sucked, tearing another moan from Rika's throat. All the time, Renamon's eyes were open and locked on Rika's face. Rika met her partner's eyes and tried to smile encouragingly. Renamon slid her hand upwards to fondle Rika's other breast. Then slowly closed her eyes, her tongue flickering over Rika's nipple.

Rika threw her head back and moaned, her hands came up of their own accord, one hand buried in the fur on the back of Renamon's head, the other crushing Renamon's paw against her breast. Every movement of Rika's tongue sent a jolt of pleasure coursing through her body, and caused her breath to catch in her throat. "That feels... Don't stop" she panted between moans. Renamon pulled away for a second, and switched sides. Rika felt like her nerves were on fire. Desire coursed through her like nothing she'd ever felt before. She found herself grinding against Renamon, trying to sate the burning between her legs. Rika felt Renamon gasp against her skin, and she pulled away, looking questionly up at Rika.

Rika clasped both hands on either side of her partner's head, and gently pushed her downwards. "I need this" she replied, her voice husky with desire "I need _you_ , Renamon".

Renamon began to slowly kiss her way down Rika's stomach, her stomach muscles fluttering under her touch. Rika felt anticipation building within her, mixing with her desire, to make Renamon's slow progress almost unbearable. Eventually, Renamon reached her hips, and hooked her paws underneath her waistband, sliding her jeans and panties down her legs in one smooth movement. Renamon gently gripped her thighs, and maneuvered herself so that she was nestled comfortably between Rika's legs, with her partner's legs resting on her shoulders.

Rika felt Renamon's warm breath on her area, and she gasped, hips twitching instinctively. Renamon pulled back, looking up at her partner again.

"Renamon, _Please_ " Rika begged.

Renamon closed her eyes, leaning forwards slowly. Rika felt her partner's breath on her pussy again, then moaned shakily as Rika's tongue traveled along her slit, lapping up the moisture that had accumulated there. Renamon repeated the action, and Rika lay her head backwards her eyes closing, letting the pleasurable sensations wash over her. Without warning, Renamon plunged her tongue into her as far as it would go. Rika gasped at the sudden penetration, then moaned breathlessly as a surge of white-hot pleasure shot up her spine. Renamon's tongue was electric, every movement sent another bolt of pleasure through her body, and caused sparks to flash before eyes. "Oh Renamon..." Rika moaned her partner's name, gripping Renamon's head between her thighs, and pressing her face against her with her hands. Her whole body unconsciously curling around Renamon's head. Renamon was good. Amazingly good. Somehow she knew exactly where to stroke Rika to drive her crazy. Already she could feel her climax building, like a tidal wave on the horizon.

"Renamon, I'm gonna..." Rika gasped.

Renamon responded by increasing her pace. Renamon's tongue felt like it was everywhere at once, mercilessly pushing her towards climax. Rika's breath came in ragged gasps. Her pulse beat a frantic rhythm in her ears. Her hips began to move of their own accord, thrusting her pussy into her partner's mouth. Renamon responded by firmly clasping Rika's buttocks in her paws, and increasing her speed.

"Oh, Renamon... I'm... oh, _Oh!_ "

For one impossibly long moment, Rika hovered on the edge of climax, every cell in her body was singing with pleasure, for an instant the world was illuminated in exquisite detail. Then Renamon spiraled her Tongue into her again, pushing her over the edge.

Then she was cumming.

White light exploded in Rika's eyes, and a series of hoarse moans were torn from her throat as waves of indescribable pleasure erupted from between her legs. Her hands were knotted in Renamon's fur. Her whole body arched up off the bed, fucking Renamon's face wildly. Rika was lost in a world of white-hot pleasure, she had no idea whether she spent minutes or hours writhing in pleasure. Eventually the waves of pleasure stopped, and she collapsed to the bed, gasping for breath, a warm glow suffusing her body.

She was distantly aware of Renamon extricating herself from between her legs and crawling up the bed to lie next to her. She felt Renamon's arms wrap around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. Rika smiled and nuzzled into Renamon's chest.

"Thank you Renamon" she whispered "That was... amazing"

"I'm happy you enjoyed it, my love" Renamon replied.

 _My love_ Rika thought, turning the phrase over in her mind, testing how it felt to use it.

"How long have you...?" She whispered into her Partner's fur.

Renamon thought for a moment before answering, "I don't know, I always knew you were someone special to me, I just never thought about it this way until today on the rooftop"

"Before today, I felt the same way about you" Rika replied "Why didn't we ever think about trying this sooner?"

"I guess we were both too stubborn to admit our feelings to ourselves"

"That sounds like us" Rika responded with a smile.

Renamon began to slowly pull away, "We should..." she began.

Rika put her finger to her partner's lips, cutting her off. Raising her head off the pillow, she glanced over Renamon's shoulder at the clock on her bedside table. It was still the early hours of the morning, they still had several hours before they were at risk of being discovered.

"We're not going anywhere, Renamon" Rika said, patting the pillow beside her head.

"As you wish, RIka" she replied, laying her head down, and pulling Rika closer towards her.

"I love you, Renamon" Rika breathed

"I love you too, RIka" Renamon replied.

Feeling warm and secure in her partner's arms, Rika allowed her eyes to close, the soft tug of sleep pulling her towards unconsciousness.


	6. Epilogue: Two Weeks Later

**Epilogue: Two Weeks Later**

The elevator pinged, signalling that it had finally reached the correct floor. As the doors slowly trundled open , Rika fished around in her pocket for the keys to her and Renamon's apartment.

 _Working for Hypnos does have it's advantages_ she thought, and this was certainly one of them. It turned out that Naicho, one of the Japanese Intelligence Agencies, maintained a number of safe houses for undercover agents around the country. As they lay empty for most of the time, Yamaki decided that Rika could stay in this one, an expensive high-rise apartment in central Tokyo, just a few minutes' walk from the Hypnos building

Rika let out a weary sigh as she entered the apartment, throwing her jacket over a chair, and walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the far wall. Staring out at the spectacular view of night-time Tokyo, she was reminded of that night spent with Renamon on the roof of the hospital, when Renamon told the story of what happened to the Digital World over the last six years. She tried to imagine what the Digital World looked like, would it still look familiar to her? Did any of the areas they visited or the Digimon they met survive?

Rika was jolted from her reverie by a warm mass pressing against her from behind. "Something on your mind?" Renamon asked, her breath warm against her ear, sending small shocks of excitement down her spine. Rika made a small, contented sound and pressed backwards against Her partner as she slipped her arms around her waist.

"That's better" Rika whispered, tilting her head backwards to lightly kiss the underside of Renamon's head.

"You haven't answered my question"

Rika let out another sigh, despite Renamon's arms around her, she felt a chill go through her. "That was the third Digimon attack this week, they're already starting to become more frequent. I don't know how much longer we can hold out"

"Look at me, Rika"

Rika swiveled in her partner's arms until she was staring upwards into her soft blue eyes.

"RIka" She began "Do you remember the power we feel when we become Sakuyamon?"

"Of course" Rika replied, remembering the feelings Renamon shared with her after they merged two weeks ago.

"That power is only possible because of the bond we share, remember that. Together, as Digimon and Tamer we can accomplish anything"

Rika remembered the countless life-or-death situations that she and Renamon had survived over the years, and felt a warm feeling suffuse her body "You're right, Renamon" she said "I should never have doubted us, as long as we're together I know we'll find a way"

Rika wrapped her arms around her partner, and they stood together in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.

Reluctantly extricating herself from Renamon's arms, Rika walked over to the fridge and pulled out two cans of soda. Tossing one to Renamon, she cracked the other one open, and raised the can into the air.

"To the future" she said, "whatever it may bring."

Renamon mirrored Rika's actions, raising her can.

"To the future" she repeated.

* * *

_'Cause this feels better than the best thing,_

_'Cause we are stronger than anything,_

_We've grown from all the things we've been through,_

_And they couldn't break us if they wanted to._

_**\- Dream & Reality by Area 11** _

* * *

**The End**


End file.
